New studio background
Congrats on the new studio! Basically it looks great, but what’s with the DC buildings in the background? It looks more like Meet the Press! I thought the whole idea of Breaking Points was to be a counter voice to the mainstream DC narrative. Maybe a graphic of the Scales of Justice, the Constitution, or even a photo of some American people would be more apropos.
State of Oregon employees might strike
I am a member of local 503 in Oregon. We had a rally at the state capital, and shortly after issued a strike notification for the state of Oregon. I don’t think anyone’s covering this in the main stream media either. We’re serious about striking. Senior executives at the state got a significant pay increase, why aren’t they looking at a similar kind of pay bump for state employees. We are child welfare workers, issue benefits and work directly with most needy. We are routinely placed in situations that jeopardize, our safety, and compensation they offer is minimal. Can someone cover the labor issues going on in the state of Oregon right now? I’m not the best person to talk to you about this, however, I’m a huge fan and have been a supporter for a long time..
The New Studio. Can it be improved?
As a long-term premium member, I along with others looked forward to the new Breakingpoints’ set. It does look quite professional; however there are, in my opinion, some serious viewer problems that you might want to consider. First, the views on the large screens are distracting and in one of the views of Saagar break one of photography’s unspoken rules, ‘never photograph a person with an object sticking out of his/her head’. In this case, the spire of the Capitol rises out of Saagar’s head like a UFO alien. When you are both on camera with a frontal shot, you are dwarfed by the view of the Lincoln memorial and the people moving around like ants. Krystal’s screen is a little better, but is still distracting. These problems might be resolved by moving the desk so the screens appear off center, or by having a more toned down image or abstraction on the screens. I wonder, too, about the usefulness of the bookshelves. These are obvious a holdover from the earlier studio where they broke up the monotony of the brick wall, but here they distract from the stylish colors of the walls. Whenever they appear in a shot, I find myself reading the titles on the books and wondering if they will ever be changed. I would suggest ditching them altogether for either just the colorful wall, or even a plaque with the names of the lifetime subscribers. And finally, Krystal, why do you display your diploma on your shelf. It reminds me of my dentist’s office and his diploma on the wall, which in his case does have a rationale. All in all, the new studios certainly has potential and I look forward to many more years of watching the two of you present your views on the stories of the day.